A Cartwright Advent
by Sibylle1
Summary: Little Joe detects the reason for a Cartwright Advent's custom.


_Thank you, Sklamb, for your help._

 **A Cartwright Advent**

Little Joe sipped at his coffee and enjoyed how the taste of his cookie mingled with it. At almost twelve he considered himself too old for hot milk but wasn't yet very fond of the bitter taste of coffee. _With a cookie, though, it was really delicious._ When he stretched to take another cookie his gaze wandered around the room over his family: There was Pa reclined in his chair, his outstretched legs crossed. Then Hop Sing sitting on the edge of a dining chair he brought to the fireplace, stirring his tea, Hoss next to him on the settee like always, and this year even the blue chair was occupied again. _Just like_ _it should be,_ Joe thought and put the cookie in his mouth.

"Even in Boston I took my Advent's break every day, Pa. I couldn't have managed without that."

"Yeah, Advent don't seem right without it. I love how we sit together and slow down. It's part of the joy of Christmas," Hoss added.

"Yes, boys, even though the reason we do it was one of the most frightening moments of my life."

"Why was our daily Advent break something horrible, Pa?" Joe gasped. He had nearly choked on his cookie as his father's comment startled him out of his tranquility. When no one answered the boy looked around the rest of his family, and was taken aback. _They wouldn't even meet his eyes...why was that?_

Finally Hop Sing looked up long enough to mutter, "Little boy not know but we almost lost him back then - he wele tiny babe," after which he glared down at his tea cup again.

"Please, tell me, what happened?" Joe begged, and at least they all looked at him, but still kept silent. Finally Pa cleared his throat. "It was eleven years ago, Joe, just before Christmas...just like now. I don't know what would have happened without Hoss."

"But what _did_ happen?"

"Hoss, will you tell the story? It's really yours, after all."

"Yeah," Hoss almost sighed. "I think it was back when I took a nap in Ma's bed every afternoon. There was a small room next to it… Don't 'member it clearly…Maybe where Pa stores his things now…" Hoss looked for help to his older brother.

"You were very young, Hoss, not even six years old- no wonder you can't remember it all. It was before we made the roof higher and added the other rooms upstairs. There was only Pa and Ma's bedroom, and a small room connected to it. Marie was so proud of her nursery." Adam's gaze searched for Pa's and when he nodded slightly he continued, "Your mother wanted to have a bright and cheery room for her baby with white furniture, and a big window. She painted your crib herself and sewed a blue quilt for your bed and matching curtains and braided a thick rag rug, too. I think it was an old dream of hers. She came out of the sun into the cold and darkness of the mountains, and back then it was even a lot darker inside here, because we had very small windows and some without glass so we had to close the shutters in the winter. Your room was small but really the prettiest and brightest in the whole house. And because of the chimney it was warm, too."

"Ah, I see it now. We both took a nap, and when I woke up I peeked into your room, Joe, like I was supposed to. And when I saw it I run downstairs because I knew I couldn't fix nothing, and I wasn't 'lowed ta lift you out of the crib."

"You came rushing down the stairs when I was working through the accounts for the third time, and came up with another different total. I have to admit I wasn't in a very good mood. I had planned to do the ledgers quickly after noon before riding out to the pasture and checking on our new cows, and on the way back I wanted to cut our Christmas tree. When you started to talk about snow everywhere I knew I had to hurry even more, and so I snapped at you not to disturb me when I was working."

"When you didn't listen to me, I looked for Marie…"

"Marie had stretched down on Adam's bed – here downstairs where my office is now. Back then it was a separate room where Hoss and Adam slept. The Christmas preparations and a cold had tired her out, so she preferred to lie down here instead of going upstairs to her own bed, where Hoss was taking his nap."

"When you said Marie was sleeping, Pa, I knew I couldn't wake her up. After your birth, Joe, your mother was mighty puny for a long time and it was an absolute rule ta never disturb her when she was asleep. So I went to the kitchen ta find Hop Sing."

"Hop Sing must finish Missy Marie's cookies. The oven was hot and I hurry to cut out and bake them all alone. I sent boy out of kitchen, not to burn fingers, or be in my way."

"That left Adam, who had ta be in the barn because he wasn't in the house. When I tried to go out Pa looked up from his ledger and told me to put on my jacket and mittens. In my hurry to put them on and button up I seemed to take forever. Finally I came to the barn in haste and tried to open the door, and Adam shouted that I couldn't come in."

"I was just painting the wagon I made for your Christmas present, Hoss, and I didn't want you to spoil your surprise. And I had to finish it so it could dry because I wanted to add some extra decorations over the main color before Christmas day."

"Oh, was that the green wagon Hoss pulled me around in when I was little?"

"Yes, it was, but you almost never got to," Adam answered.

"But what _happened_ to me?"

"When Hoss came inside again, I had finished the ledgers at last and was about to hurry across to the barn, so we met in the door. I asked Hoss why he was coming back so soon, instead of playing in the snow. I thought that was what he'd been talking about. When I finally heard what he was really saying about "snow everywhere" I ran up the stairs and into the nursery with my heart racing so fast I thought I would faint. Hoss was right. There _was_ snow everywhere, and it was very cold. I still don't know why the windowpane fell out - maybe there wasn't enough putty or it wasn't mixed right. Anyway, it was lying on the rug and the curtains were flapping in the ice cold wind. But there were no other noises. You were silent, Joe. Not something any more common back in those days than now. So I took the last two steps to your crib in horror of what I might find.

"There you lay, gazing in wonder at the big snowflakes that had piled up on your quilt.

"Not until I pulled you out and carried you downstairs did you start to wail, I guess because I took you away from your very own first snow. Marie woke up and put you in a warm bath and Hop Sing added some special herbs to the water. And so you didn't even catch a cold.

"I don't know how dangerous it really was, but back then we all learned an important lesson: Haste and hurry before Christmas to have the prettiest tree, the most wonderful presents, the most delicious food should never override the time for care and love. And so we started to make time to enjoy family and friendship on every day in Advent." Ben smiled at his sons and at Hop Sing, who seemed to blush a little as he smiled back and then settled more comfortably in his chair.


End file.
